Quick hitters: What Notre Dame DC Al Golden said before Central Michigan game

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden spoke to the media Tuesday night. Here are some things he said about the Fighting Irish defense before this weekend’s home game against Central Michigan.

On the short halftime vs. NC State

“Yeah, it was. We were very quick. We had some time prior to that when we solved some things. Yeah, we had a little bit of time [during the weather delay]. Hot dog time, apparently. I missed that, by the way. No, but it was quick, and sometimes that’s better. Sometimes you can just stray too far away from what the guys are comfortable with. And I think less is more for these guys, and just trying to [talk about] one, two or three things to hang your hat on and move forward.”  

On the danger of outsmarting yourself with in-game adjustments

“Are they play-repeaters? Or do they hold something back until the third quarter? You see all that. It’s like anything else, right? Like, you have to take care of your own business. Execute what you have and then adapt to the couple of problem plays. There’s always problem plays. There’s not any coordinator out there, there is not any defensive coach out there that’s not dealing with a problem. There’s always a problem play. It doesn’t matter who you play. And you’ve got to resolve it, or it’s going to bother you all game.

“And then the other thing that most people don’t think about is sometimes they want you to adjust, so you take the cheese. And then it’s something else on top of that, that’s more explosive. So, sometimes you’ve just got to be like, Do I really want to go down this path? Or do I want to give them that four or five yards — you know, what I mean?’ So, that’s the game within the game.”  

On the Notre Dame pass rush

“I’m excited about our pass rush. I mean, there was no pass rush against Navy. Again, most of our starters are out by halftime. And our play count wasn’t very high against Tennessee State. And then last week, it was really game plan-oriented. So, I thought our guys executed the game plan really, really well.

“Somebody said [Brennan Armstrong’s] yards per attempt before that last drive were like 4.7 or something on 40-something throws. That’s collective defense, and that’s what we’re preaching. The only thing that matters is the score. So, we’re better at situational football. The sudden-change stop was awesome. We have a good mentality with that.

“We’ve got to keep improving in the red [zone]. Two more stops on third down, and it’s a good day, that kind of thing. But I think we’re playing fast. We’re tackling. We’re attacking the ball. So that’s where we’re at.” 

On Notre Dame nose tackle Howard Cross III

“Get-off, leverage, fast hands. Natural strength. I’m not saying he’s not weight room-strong, because he is. But I mean natural strength, the ability to contort and bend and get out of bad positions. He’s just really flexible and pliable in terms of defeating blockers and getting flat down the line. His effort right now is incredible. The plays that he’s making on the perimeter, all you’ve got to do is go back. They were going this way.”  

On linebackers other than JD Bertrand

“Great. Awesome. They did great. Jaylen [Sneed], let’s start there. Jalen is really, really progressing. Today was a great practice for Jaylen Sneed. Like he’s just got to make it small, continue to win the day, stack good days, and then that’s going to become who he is. Like, he’s got it in him. And it means a lot to him. He’s just got to continue to prepare and keep it small.

“Jack [Kiser], I thought, was phenomenal. And again, answered the bell again today with a great practice, so just really excited about the group and just whoever’s up is up. Again, I know the outside world talks about play counts or this, that — like it’s everything. Linebackers are on special teams. We’re on early downs. We’re on third down. We’re on base. We’re on sub. Like, there’s a lot of different roles that these kids do, and they’re doing a great job for us.”